Tom Daley scores six perfect 10s as he qualifies for 10m diving final

Tom Daley scored six perfect 10s en route to qualifying for this afternoon's 10metre platform final in what promises to be a royal battle with Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham.

Mitcham overcame a deficit of almost 28 points to qualify first with 511.70 points - 9.15pts ahead of Daley, who faltered slightly after giving an exhibition with his first three efforts.

The 16-year-old returned to the Dr SP Mukherjee Aquatics Complex 24 hours after claiming his first Commonwealth title when he teamed up with Max Brick, fifth this morning, to win the synchro.

Up and over: England's Tom Daley in the men's 10m platform preliminary today

The Plymouth teenager appeared untouchable in his first three dives before he became a little ragged while Mitcham produced some excellent diving and this afternoon's final is by no means a foregone conclusion.

The shoulder injury Daley suffered at the European Championships in August has severely restricted his training and competition, meaning he has included just two of his new dives in his series here.

I can do this with my eyes shut: Tom Daley scored six perfect 10s

As a result there is no room for error for Daley with his main opponents having more demanding sequences.

There was no gentle introduction today with Daley opening his campaign with his most demanding dive - a back 2 1/2 somersault with 2 1/2 twists pike with a 3.6 degree of difficulty.

He executed it superbly and already had a 10-point lead at the end of the first round with 91.80. After that Daley continued at a nigh-on perfect level, scoring six perfect 10s in his next two dives.

His fourth effort, the armstand back triple somersault pike, was his second most difficult at 3.5 and there was noticeably more splash on entry, with Daley marked down as low as 7.5.

Daley's next two dives followed in the same vein, scores going as low as 6.5, while Mitcham showed his best diving as the competition progressed.

Daley said: 'The first three dives are the best I've done in competition for a long time. The twist is the highest score I've done in competition.

'The last three dives were not as sharp as I would like them to be but it's something to improve on in the final.

'I don't like to be diving at the best of my ability in the preliminary rounds because you almost feel like you have wasted it.

'You have to make sure you are on top of your game going into the final and I've got myself into quite a nice position going in in 10th.

'I can put all the pressure I can on to Matt in the final.'

Mitcham is renowned for his final dive and won the Olympic title in Beijing with his last effort which scored him four 10s.

Daley continued: 'He has got a fantastic last dive but normally my last three dives are the strongest and normally the ones that secure me up in the medals.'

'I start lower down in the rankings and then gradually work my way up.

'It was the other way round today but hopefully I'll be able to get them all sorted in the final.'